Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone is already looking for ways to fill the gaping hole left by Kai Sotto.
Kai Sotto will sit out the FIBA Asia Cup this year in Saudi Arabia.
Gilas Pilipinas head coach Tim Cone reaffirmed this to reporters on Wednesday, Jan. 29, after Ginebra bested its playoff rival Meralco in the PBA Season 49 Commissioner’s Cup.
Cone said that the 7-foot-2 cager is scheduled to have surgery on his ACL this week.
From there, it will take Sotto from nine months to a year to recover from the injury he sustained in the Koshigaya Alphas' loss to the Seahorses Mikawa in the Japan B.LEAGUE last Jan. 5.
The Asia Cup is slated in early August.
“I dont think he’s had surgery yet. From what I heard, surgery is going to be the first of February. From there, we count the months. Minumum nine, probably 12,” Cone told reporters at the Smart Araneta Coliseum in Cubao.
“The guy is 7-foot-2. It usually takes longer [to recover]. We’re thinking maybe a year he’ll be out. But he’s young. If you've got to have it, now is the time. At that age, he can easily recover from that.”
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Cone and the rest of the coaching staff are expecting to have Sotto back in time for the FIBA World Cup qualifiers.
“Hopefully, he’ll be playing some time in the World Cup qualifiers,” Cone said.
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Without Sotto, whom Cone described as the key to the program, Cone and company have no other recourse but to look for a way to fill the gaping hole left by the big man.
The multi-titled tactician mentioned Carl Tamayo, “who is killing it in Korea,” as among the cagers they see stepping up in lieu of Sotto.
“Carl is killing it in Korea at this point. We’re excited to see all his improvements when he gets here. He’s one of the guys who will help us replace Kai,” Cone said.
“He should probably be one of the guys getting major minutes on the team if he continues to play at the level he’s playing in Korea.”
Gilas is set to visit Taiwan and New Zealand in February for the next window of the 2025 FIBA Asia Cup qualifiers.